Photo by Howard Owens.
Assemblyman Steve Hawley recognizes a great wrestler when he sees one -- Hawley was himself a high school wrestler, good enough to make it to Division 1 in college before rib injury cut short his career -- so after Casper Stewart became Batavia High School's first state champion in wrestling, Hawley decided to deliver a special Assembly Proclamation to Stewart.
Hawley is limited to no more than 20 such proclamations during each two-year term, so, Hawley said, they go only to constituents with exceptional accomplishments.
"When we do a big one, it's for somebody, an individual or organization, that has accomplished something that is absolutely not only unbelievable but very difficult to obtain," Hawley said.
Stewart finished the season 52-3 and his wrestling career at BHS 279-20. He is ranked fourth all-time in New York for wins and first all-time with 202 pens, ranking him fourth in the nation.
He will attend West Point, where he will continue to wrestling. After completing the military academy, he will serve at least five years of active duty in the U.S. Army.
"I am extremely proud of you," said Hawley, himself an Army veteran.
Hawley's wrestling career started in fifth grade, and Coach Cargill told him he thought he had the makeup to be a wrestler, an offer that Hawley was initially reluctant to pursue because he didn't have much self-confidence, he said.
Wrestling helped change that.
"To make a long story short, I had a halfway decent record, a winning record, and I went from 101 to 112, to 118, or whatever the classes were," Hawley said. "I wrestled in college, and in one match against Bowling Green, Division 1, I ripped off that rib cartilage. But I never ever lost that belief that I could do anything I wanted."
Photo by Howard Owens.
